Visas of Parents and grandparents of immigrants in Canada will be processed through draw

The existing first come first serves system of processing applications of parents and grandparents of immigrants in Canada will be replaced by the lottery system.

The modification to the visa processing will be effective from January 2017. The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada has said in its press release that this is intended to make the visa processing impartial to the applicants.

In the past, logjam was created in the application processing as the number of applications far exceeded the available visas, as quoted by CBC CA.

John McCallum, the Immigration Minister has said that the feedback from previous applicants is being studied and attempts are being made to make the visa processing impartial for parents and grandparents of immigrants in Canada. It is being ensured that all applicants get access to the visa processing by giving equal opportunities for them to choose their name, added McCallum.

In the period between 3rd January to 2nd February 2017, the citizens and permanent residents of Canada who wish to fund the visa and stay of their parents and grandparents have to submit a form online on the website of IRCC within 30 days period.

The confirmation number will be given to the prospective sponsor after the information is appropriately transmitted. The duplicate entries will be eliminated as per the press release of the IRCC. It has clarified that completion of the online form does not imply that the individual has applied to fund through the program.

At the conclusion of the 30 day period, 10,000 prospective sponsors will be picked by the IRCC at random and they will be then invited to furnish the complete application for the parent and grandparent visa. The applicants who are not selected have the option to apply again.

All the applicants who have filled the online application form will be intimated by IRCC as to they were selected or rejected. Sponsors who are rejected can reapply for the same in 2018.

The existing two-year period to process the visa applications for family merger visas would be decreased to half as declared by the Immigration Minister John McCallum last week.

In the year 2017, the government of Canada will permit 20,000 parents and grandparents through this program and this is equal to the numbers of last year.

The super visa is also an option for the parents and grandparents of citizens and permanent residents of Canada that will permit them to expand their stay in Canada for a maximum period of two years once

they arrive in Canada. Many visits of six months at a time are permitted by the multiple entry visas that are valid for 10 years.

Sergio Karas, an immigration lawyer in Toronto has said that the draw system is a minor betterment of the earlier system that had resulted in a crazy rush in the beginning of each year. The applicants would queue overnight at the doors of the visa processing centers. Some of the applicants would even hire people to stand for them in the queue and submit the applications that were filled by the legal experts or consultants.

The draw system that has replaced the earlier system will give all the applicants a chance to comprehend that the probability of them getting an invitation will be around 20%, added Karas.

Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants CEO Dory Jade has said that Canada has the past of having the practice to welcome parents and grandparents under the family merger initiative. They contribute significantly to Canada’s economic and social fabric as they take care of the children when their parents are away at work, added Jade.

The new system of the draw will update the application process to the online mode from the paper mode. The people are now eager to understand the manner in which the process of selecting at random would be functional. They would like to know if there will be a second processing round in case the potential sponsors fail to submit the application or in case if their applications are rejected, added Jade. The process must be transparent, said Jade.